Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
Gautama BuddhaRead
Be a lamp unto yourselves! Work out your liberation with diligence! Fill your mind with compassion!
Interpretation
The quote encourages self-reliance and compassion as essential for personal liberation.
Gautama Buddha emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and personal effort in achieving enlightenment. By urging individuals to be their own guiding light, he advocates for taking responsibility for one's own spiritual journey while nurturing compassion for others.
In practice
During a meditation retreat, this quote serves as a reminder to rely on one's own inner light and compassion.
Death carries off a man busy picking flowers with an besotted mind, like a great flood does a sleeping village.
A kind man who makes good use of wealth is rightly said to possess a great treasure; but the miser who hoards up his riches will have no profit.
There are having flowers in Spring, breezes in Summer, moon in Autumn, snows in Winter. If there is nothing worrying over you, it will be the best seasons at all times.
Make an island of yourself, make yourself your refuge; there is no other refuge. Make truth your island, make truth your refuge; there is no other refuge.
When a wise man is advised of his errors, he will reflect on and improve his conduct. When his misconduct is pointed out, a foolish man will not only disregard the advice but rather repeat the same error.
The tongue like a sharp knife ... Kills without drawing blood.
Judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.
The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain common work as it comes certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things of life.
Yield not thy neck_x000D_ _x000D_ To fortune's yoke, but let thy dauntless mind_x000D_ _x000D_ Still ride in triumph over all mischance._x000D_ _x000D_ In the difficult are the friendly forces, the hands_x000D_ _x000D_ that work on us.
The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane.
If a problem cannot be solved, enlarge it.
People often remark that I'm pretty lucky. Luck is only important in so far as getting the chance to sell yourself at the right moment. After that, you've got to have talent and know how to use it.
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